


A Regency Romance: Five-O Style

by Jenthetrulysly



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Bloodplay, M/M, Regency Romance, Vampire Turning, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-06
Updated: 2011-06-05
Packaged: 2017-10-19 22:46:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/206038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jenthetrulysly/pseuds/Jenthetrulysly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What the title says. Sometimes the solutions to all your problems comes in the most unexpected way, especially for young Daniel Reginald Pius Claremont Williams, the long-suffering 2nd Duke of Staffordshire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Night Blooming Roses

Daniel (Danny) Williams raised a hand to his mouth to cover his yawn, utterly perturbed that he had done such a thing in public.  He was leaning against the bar and trying desperately to catch the eye of the young barmaid Miss Hills as he nursed the half empty glass of cognac, the fifth in a series during the course of the evening so far. It was actually a half-cocked attempt to forget the current predicament he was in, which was effectively ruining any possibility of enjoyment, despite all the music and laughter and pretty ladies in front of him.

If that wretched Marquis of Northumberland Stanley Edwards were to see him, he would never live this down. A yawn in public at one of these functions was a sign of uncouthness, and that was not tolerated at any costs. Whilst there may be no actual flogging, the sharp sting of the cat o’ nine tails still whipped painfully in the form of vicious, absolutely vicious words which hurt so much more, and cut just as badly, although the marks were never to be seen.

At the thought of Stanley’s name and that damningly insufferable smirk on his face, a small feeling of mutual dislike fluttered up inside him, making Daniel clench his fists as he fought to avoid gnashing his teeth. He sighed as he raised the small glass of cognac to his lips, taking a delicate sip.

That was sort of to be expected, since they were both trying to court the affections of the young Countess of Salisbury, Rachel, who at the moment was dancing with the sod at the root of Danny’s problems. She was of a marriageable age, and whilst he felt no physical attraction towards her, no insane crushing admiration for her, she would suit his purposes just fine, because she was the daughter of one of his father’s oldest friends and she had lovely brown hair and a warm smile. She was good looking in that aristocratic manner that was deemed to be acceptable. That was all that Danny needed.

He watched the lace hem of her dress swirl as Stanley spun her around in his arms and she laughed, loud and clear and full of mirth, the music doing nothing to alleviate the morose mood that had settled over him.  

As things were, his father had issued him with an ultimatum that very morning, bemoaning his status as a bachelor and told him that he must find a wife before the next full moon, while he was still of veritable age. His mother had insisted that he consider the exotic Countess Kono for his affections, to which he shook his head and merely laughed.

‘No Mother, for she is just as much in love with Mr Kelly, and I do not have the conscience to break those two lovebirds apart,’ Daniel had stated simply that day, in the chilly morning sunlight of the drawing room as the fire in the heart crackled merrily.

‘How unfortunate,’ she had said, before settling back to continue her knitting.

The Duke of Staffordshire regarded Danny with level eyes, a grim set to his features, which had never, ever boded well for him. He could just tell that with the next few words he was really going to come close to outright hating his father.

‘Daniel, I am giving you no choice on the matter. Either find someone, or, I will choose someone for you,’ from Daniel’s viewpoint, he could clearly see that this was just a token gesture, for his Father had already chosen the Lady Jennifer Kaye to be his wife. The very same Jennifer with the owlish glasses who hated being called Jennifer but preferred to be called ‘Jenna’ and loved reading Alexander Pope, writing and spinning long yarns of fiction about a former fiancé. The whole thing smelt of _Eloise to Abelard_ if Daniel was being honest with himself.

Which lead him to the present point in time, attending the seventh in a string of these highly aristocratic parties, where the whole was a lark because it was actually a competition to see who could look down from their nose at the other most imperiously, all _braggadocio_ and no substance, similar in vein to a how a peacock was, vibrant and so haughty. He was leaning on the bar utterly uninterested in the happenings around him until the elusive Mr Kelly came by and poked him in the arm.

With a mild start he stared at the man, admiring the way the light danced across his impossibly sharp cheekbones. Danny would not be surprised if you could cut glass with those.

‘Enjoying yourself so far, Danny?’ he asked, speculation rampant in his eyes. Danny took in the sight of the young Asian man, who looked so starkly out of place here, amongst the sea of brown and red and blonde.

Danny did his very best attempt to look down at Chin, ‘Mr Kelly, if you could refrain from using such an abhorrently inappropriate name to describe me.’ The overall effect was ruined when he broke out into a small smile, the very first in the evening so far.

‘Still so effortlessly eloquent as always, our young Duke,’ Chin replied as the barmaid, as Miss Hills came back and handed him his glass of port, before whisking off, the lace trails of her bonnet flowing behind her.

‘You’ve never minded before, when I’ve called you Danny,’ Chin said as he leaned back against the grainy wood of the bar, crossing his legs.

Danny was too acutely aware of the facts that despite the din and the general merriness at these events, the walls still somehow had ears and everything said ended up oft as half-truths on the grape vine, in the most unsavory of ways. To the small group of friends he had in Chin and Kono, this was perfectly acceptable in the privacy of the wide grounds of his Estate, but to the public at large, he was still The Honourable Daniel Reginald Pius Claremont Williams, the 2nd Duke of Staffordshire.

A redundantly long and inefficacious title, for he had no possible chance of ever claiming the power from as his Dukedom was vested solely in his father, who was doing his damned best to try and outlive him.   

Chin merely took another sip of port as he remembered where they were, and made a conscious effort to keep the conversation light, to which Danny was very grateful for, ‘why the long face? Your father would be most happy with your attempts to comply with his wishes.’

Danny sighed, and took a sip of the almost empty glass of cognac, the bright lights and the din from the band, specifically the grating sounds of the string quartet, which had been playing the same song for the past three hours combined with the five glasses of fine cognac Danny had been swilling back from the start combined to give him a most riveting headache, but the world’s hard edges were softening and he could feel the tension ease out of his body.

They surveyed the centre of the floor, where Rachel by now was fully laughing, her hair swinging as she danced the night away with Stanley, and Danny knew that from then on Rachel was a lost cause, and nothing he could do was going to work against her. She was positively brimming with happiness and affection for Stanley, ‘yes, I supposed he should be happy,’ he ground out.

All further chance of decent conversation quickly disappeared as the Lady Jenna Kaye made her way over to the bar, and Danny barely refrained from raising his eyebrows as she settled just in front of him, her cheeks flushed and a warm open smile gracing her features. He could practically feel the dozens of eyes settling over this tableau, because it was one thing for a gentleman to approach a fair maiden at one of these things, but for a Lady to approach a gentleman was unheard of, and was sure to send elated titters of gossip through the Royal Court.

Danny was very sure that the small flame was going to burn like wildfire the following morning, when the Royal Court assembled. He had to mitigate the damage at all costs, because if word of this spread out, he would be no better than a mere commoner. They lived in a system of strict rules and regulations over conduct and what was acceptable (this was clearly not) and for the hundredth time Danny was intensely jealous of the common class, who could go about their daily lives without so much as a toss to the misgivings of the Aristocrats, who he had discovered had a penchant for turning everything into a scandal.

And this, he could do without.

‘Good evening to you, Lady Kaye,’ Danny rushed out quickly, ‘please excuse me, for I think my father would like a word with me, I need to get back.’

‘Oh nonsense, Daniel,’ she replied softly, tilting her head to the side, ‘would you like to accompany me on a stroll around the grounds of our estate? We have a lovely selection of night blooming roses in the gazebo, your father mentioned that you are partial to them.’ She held out a lace-clad arm expectantly, and who was Danny to refuse such a blatant order from the powers that be?

He tried to quash the sense of resignation bubbling up inside him at the machinations of his father, who he really hated at that moment for forcing him into this predicament notwithstanding the titters that was starting, still hushed whispers in the shadows at this stage.

He plastered a humbled smile onto his face and looked away shyly, drawing out a very high-pitched and un-ladylike giggle that resonated ominously in his ears before extending his arm out to her, which she quickly accepted, curling her arm around like a vine. If he was going to do this he might as well give them all a show, especially for his father, the interfering busybody. Danny had to resist the urge to shake her off. He turned around to look at Chin, who was positively brimming with faux happiness, and just for that, the next time they went fishing at the lake on Chin’s father’s estate he was going to switch Chin’s mealworms for live leeches. Oh happy day.

She was positively beaming, he cheeks steadily flushing a dark pink with each passing moment ‘oh please, as I have oft told you, Daniel’ there was emphasis on his name, ‘please call me Jenna.’

‘As you wish,’ Danny replied, before nodding curtly at Chin, ‘please excuse us Mr Kelly. Enjoy the rest of your evening.’


	2. Some Enchanted Evening

They were walking along the grounds at Wiltshire, a pleasantly cold evening breeze ensuring that they had to keep close to each other as they took a turn in the expanse of the grounds, their coats drawn tightly over them. Music could be heard in the distance as it filtered past the open windows, helping to set the tone of what Danny had no doubt was supposed to be an enchanting evening.

‘Have you any news of your uncle George?’ Danny asked after a few moments of silence. Silence was never a good thing because it implied that you had no conversationalist skills, and Danny had always been proud of his, which came as naturally to him as breathing.  

‘Oh, nothing much really,’ came Jenna’s squeaky reply amongst nervous laughter, ‘we await news of his safe return from Waterloo with much anticipation.’

A few more moments of silence passed by them, bordering on socially unacceptable. Danny sighed, conversations were best had with two people, but judging by the way this was going, he was going to be the one to do all the legwork. This irked him, because it meant he had to work twice as hard for so little in return. 

Still, needs must.

‘My, these are lovely grounds,’ Danny said in way of reply, ‘the nighttime roses are indeed lovely. Have you any moonflowers?’

Another nervous giggle, and Danny had to resist the urge to just throw his arms up in the air, in supplication to a God whom he didn’t believe in, and give up, because from the way things were looking at the moment he was going to end up married to this girl against his express wishes.

Sure, he could get a divorce once he had fulfilled all of society’s expectations, namely beget a male child and name him after his grandfather, but he wasn’t ready for the social stigma that would arise. It was one thing for the King to do this, but what about the rest of them?

Divorce was still unacceptable as at the present moment.

He was snapped out of this train of thought, with Jenna’s soft ‘yes, we have some varieties over by the gazebo over there. Hark, let us leave the cold nighttime and retreat there.’

He had to look up at Jenna, for he was a hare’s breath shorter than her, and really took a moment to look at the girl his father was pledging him to. Alright, she was endearing, in a sort of bookish way, all innocence and Danny was sure she could be as sweet as toffee, what with her large brown eyes and soft plump lips, but he felt no sort of attraction towards her.  She was alright looking, nothing special, but she fit all the requirements that he had created and she was willing and pliant. It would have been _easy._

But then, why was he still hesitating?

 _What was it that he was still looking for?_

He should be at peace here, outside away from all the commotion amongst nature and all that was fresh and vibrant and green, but this latest turn of thoughts was very worrisome to him. Whenever he had needed to regroup his thoughts, the calm nature of a lake where the willow was drooping lazily over it beckoned to him, like how he imagined a long lost lover would, if those trashy romance novels everyone in the Court was reading were worth any salt.

They were heading straight for the gazebo, past the path of rose bushes and his arm had encircled his in a vice like grip. Oh, Lord. His heart started to race and he threw everything into not hyperventilating and running back up the grounds to the Manor House and just running, running from all of this until when he looked back he could longer see the reproach and disapproval.

As a guest, he had no choice, turning towards her and placing his hands softly over hers, ‘that sounds like a dashing idea, why don’t we?’ He waved a hand for her to go first, and she was positively radiating happiness by the time she hitched up both her skirt and underskirt to climb the three short steps to the gazebo.

In the far corner of the garden Danny could make out the sight of Kono and Chin taking a turn themselves around the garden, stopping by the edge of the lake as they laced their hands together in an acceptable display of affection. He turned to face Jenna again, who was looking at him with something akin to awe in her eyes, her interest in him evident, as clear as day. They reclined against the hard cold wood of the seating and survey the entire scene before them.

There was a moment of perfect tranquility, where Danny has managed to convince himself that everything will be alright when he noticed that Jenna had laid her hand very close to his, not quite touching, but close enough that Danny could feel the heat come off it. It was an open wordless invitation for him to take her hands in his, which was the first step in the whole courtship ritual. Once he took her hand in such circumstances, he had effectively sealed his fate.

He gulped, quickly considering the alternative options. At this stage, he was still young and naïve and had plenty to learn about the ways of the world, as such he was completely inexperienced in such matters of the heart. Or flesh, for that matter. He could tell that if he were to give his affections to Jenna, then everyone would be happy; everyone important to him – his Mother and Father, his friends; society would smile benignly on their union. It was acceptable, and incredibly boring. An aristocrat marrying an aristocrat? How terribly feudal.

He had a chance for something comfortable and familiar here, but something else was telling him that this wasn’t right, that there was someone else Danny was meant to be with, his partner was not Jenna, who was nice and lovely and easy, but Danny had never liked easy things, because he believed that the value in something came from the way you had to fight for it.

Danny Williams had never done easy in his entire life, a prime example was how he could have lived off a trust fund from his Father, whittling away the days much like his cousin Bernard in gentlemen’s clubs in a haze of cigar smoke and fine wine. Instead, he had chosen to get involved with Scotland Yard and had become a police officer, and eventually a Detective, with ten murder cases under his belt.

No, he had come to his decision. There was no way he could offer his affections to Jenna when his heart was not in it, he was too noble and could not have such disregard for her honour.

No matter what it took, Danny was going to find a solution to the problem posed by his Father, even if he wasn’t quite sure what he was looking for, he took solace in the fact that he recognized that he indeed was looking for something, and that would have to be enough, for now.

He moved his hand out of Jenna’s reach and looked up at the stars.

‘They are so vibrant against the inky black of the sky,’ he noted mildly and in the corner of his eye he could see Jenna nodding vociferously, the small moue of disappointment evident.

‘I agree, this is one of my favourite spots to retreat to in the garden,’ Jenna said, drawing her shawl around her just that bit tighter, ‘I often come here when I need to think about things, and I am so happy to be able to finally share it with someone very close to me.’

‘Thank you, Jenna,’ Danny replied, and flashed her a warm smile, ‘it means a lot to me that you would share this wonderful spot with me. But it is a little cold tonight, so I suggest we head back to the party, where it will be much warmer.’

She stood up a little too abruptly and stuck her hand out for Danny, who barely refrained from sighing as he looped his hand in hers and they walked back to the party in silence. Chin and Kono were predictably behind the rose bushes and Danny could hear the soft sounds of kissing and the rustling of fabric and leaves. He had the decency to look forward but Jenna’s gaze was transfixed on the silhouette of the pair in the waning moonlight, as their bodies wrapped around each other like vines and were trying to feed off each other’s love and affection, as if that would be enough to sustain them.  It was cold enough that their breath was coming out in a fog, but they looked like they didn’t care, so long as they had each other.

Jenna reacted predictably and brought a hand to cover her mouth, ‘oh my! What if their parents find out! Kono’s virtue, what has she done with it?’

Danny shook his head, ‘unfortunately Jenna, it is neither the time nor our place to discuss such things,’ for the most part he had kept the note of irritation out of his voice, because he believed that what two people did was their business, and no one else’s, he squeezed her arm warningly, ’let us head back.’

They managed to take a few more steps before Jenna stopped, dead in her tracks. Danny turned around to meet her eyes and caught her earnest expression. She lifted her hand away from his and fisted them in the fabric of her dress, twisting the fabric into little knots.

‘They look like they are so in love,’ she murmured, deathly quiet, ‘they only have eyes for each other.’ She was fully staring at him by now, and he felt his throat go dry.

‘They do, quite,’ Danny found himself agreeing, not liking the direction of this conversation. What he wished for right now was the relative safety of the people inside the party, or back in his Estate at Staffordshire, ‘let us head back inside, before the frost sets in.’

Jenna looked like she wanted to say a million things, like she wanted to straight up ask Danny if he loved her, but then that would be deathly foolish and akin to social suicide. Rashness was completely unbefitting of a lady, so she rightly held her tongue in check and followed him inside. As soon as they stepped past the threshold and Danny had handed his cloak over to the manservant, the Duke of Staffordshire descended on them once he caught sight of their pink tinged noses and wind-bitten cheeks.

‘Daniel, we were wondering where you were!’ He boomed jovially, his eyes putting two and two together to equal five. ‘Oh, has the Lady Kaye been showing you around the Estate?’

She laughed, which came out more like little breathless gasps, and Danny faced his Father, ‘the nighttime roses were lovely Father, especially next to the Gazebo. I highly suggest you ask his Lordship to show you, when the opportunity presents itself.’

The manservant had just collected Jenna’s shawl and had taken no more than two steps before Danny called him back and seized his cloak before throwing it over his shoulders. The din and noise was overwhelming by now, as more people got up to dance, and Danny’s flagging headache returned in full force. He brought a hand to rub at his right temple.

‘Where are you heading off to now?’ the Duke asked, ‘oh come boy! The night is still young!’ 

Danny cast an apologetic glance at both his Father and Jenna, ‘I’m very sorry, but I’m not feeling very well, I must excuse myself. Jenna,’ he turned to face her and plastered a warm smile on his face, ‘thank you inviting me over to your Father’s estate. It was lovely to see you again.’ He bowed deeply as she bowed in response.

‘Oh Daniel, I enjoyed your company very much!’ she said, beaming at him, ‘I would like it very much if you could come and visit us again soon. I shall show you the greenhouses the next time you are here. Mama has a large variety of exotic flowers from the Orient there.’   

‘I’m sure he’d love to!’ Danny’s father answered for him, casting a curt sideways glance at Danny, ‘thank you for the invitation, my dear. Do you want me to send the cart around, to take you into town?’

‘No thank you Father, I’ll be fine. Thank you, Jenna,’ Danny echoed weakly, ‘but I must be going now.’

And with that, he stepped out into the darkness of the night, the burden of surviving the evening with his reputation in tact eased, just a little. He walked along the front path and across the winding dirt road and soon found himself in a small village, complete with cobblestoned main path and a trough in the front for the horses to drink from should there be any horses.

He stumbled into a bar called the ‘The Bull and Bush’ and took a seat at the bar next to a rather fetching, very attractive young man drinking from a frothy glass of beer. He had marvelously stormy blue-grey eyes that reminded Danny of the sea at its most portentous, during a storm. As soon as he set his eyes on the man those stormy eyes rake over Danny, and there was a perfect moment where the world seemed to slow and narrow down until the pinpoint of Danny’s focus was solely on the man, and the man held onto his gaze.

Blood rushed past his ears and his throat went dry as Danny felt the breath rush out of his lungs making him giddy as he breathed, ‘I’m Danny.’

The man nodded his head, his eyes flashing in a sensual way, and he licked his lips ‘Steve.’  

After that, Danny lost all semblance of self-control and gave into the intense desire to satisfy the flesh, in a way completely unfitting of a man of his station, completely scandalous and unacceptable, but he found he honestly didn’t care. Because it seemed that he had finally found what he had been looking for, in the most unlikely of places. 


	3. Nothing Is Ever Like How It Is In Romance Novels

Danny had read enough trashy novels and listened to enough of his Mother’s edicts on the subject such that he could probably write a small book on it, but experiencing this sort of amorous desire was a completely different matter.

Words failed him, and that was a first.

Somehow they had wound up in a small bedsit above the tavern, where the stale smell of mould and mildew was rampant, and normally would have had Danny up in arms indignantly with the innkeeper, but right now the most pressing concern was getting his hands all over Steve’s skin, which felt like the finest of silk under his fingertips. He’d managed to keep his hands off of Steve whilst they were still in public, having taken to fiddling with the soft cashmere trim of his cloak instead, which was a very poor substitute.

However once the door was closed Danny pushed Steve against it, so that his back was pressed flush against the wooden grain and Danny was kissing him like his life depended on it, like he would very well _die_ if he didn’t manage to scrape his lips and teeth over Steve’s which had parted with a soft gasp and Danny took this opportunity to brace one hand on Steve’s shoulder and curl the other one around his neck, letting his fingers tangle in the small hairs at the nape as he licked his way inside, pleased at the inherent sweetness and the taste of beer.

Steve had somehow pushed Danny’s thick cashmere travelling cloak onto the floor, baring his broad shoulders and his nimble fingers began working on the fastenings of Danny’s coat, then his double-breasted waistcoat but couldn’t get very far until Danny lifted his arms away so that Steve could peel the clothing off Danny, who savoured the rush of cool nighttime air on his much too heated skin. He began to earnestly unbutton Steve’s much simpler and more toned down grey waistcoat, the man having somewhere, _somehow_ shucked out of his coat during the course of their meeting. 

At this stage the insistent need for air became too pressing and they had to let go of each other’s mouths, which were both swollen and wet and looking freshly kissed as they stared at each other as the full impact of what they had done so far and the potential recourse of their actions settled over them. In the soft lamplight Danny could see and _feel_ Steve tense up and go rigid under him, the man even going so far as to duck his head in shame. Danny could also appreciate the difference in their status in society, evident as day now that they had a chance to observe each other in the quiet of the evening. Whilst Danny’s clothes were expensively tasteful and helped to broadcast his social and familial status, it was not obvious until the cashmere travelling cloak had been taken off. Steve, on the other hand, looked no more like the son from the new middle-class; a class of people whose income came from industry, rather than the Old bloodlines.

Danny was able to deduce all of this after a sweeping glance of Steve’s clothes, which were very nicely made and lovely in the way they clung to his tall, lithe form, but they were not at the cutting edge of fashion, which was an inherently fickle and selfish thing.

They were gasping by now; equally desperate and hungry for everything they could offer each other, as they both gathered the nerve to take that final step and throw caution to the wind. Because finally doing this with each other was a blatant disregard, even stomping on, of all the rules and decorum of society.

It was one thing for a woman to bear child outside of wedlock. The storm could be weathered and it will pass with time, but it was a completely different and much worse thing for two men to have feelings towards each other, to be attracted to each other.  It was morally wrong and went against the grain of everything that was good and holy preached by the Church, and the fear of eternal damnation should have had Danny scooping up his clothes and scurrying out of the small squalid room, as far as his feet could take him, to never turn or look back on this.

However, once Danny caught sight of that bottom lip quivering, a soft pink tongue darted out to swipe at the wetness there and those stormy eyes which were as magnificent as they were tumultuous as they observed him, raw hunger and emotion surging past like tumultuous waves on the beaches of Torquay, a lump formed in his throat, and he said a small prayer as his hands found their way back to Steve’s face, rubbing his thumb against the sharp jaw and the hint of stubble there. The roughness under his fingertips only reinforced that this was indeed real, and was really happening.

Steve still held himself far too rigidly, and a small hint of understanding flitted across Danny’s face, ‘babe,’ the endearment slipped out, and Danny didn’t bother to take it back, ‘please don’t be like that, I know you won’t hurt me, I know that because you’ve allowed me plenty of opportunity to pick up my boots and leave this, and leave you, but I don’t want to. Not at all. Instead, I want…’

Danny trailed off, because he knew exactly what he had wanted to ask for, but even now, there were still some things which shouldn’t be said, because no matter how, the wall still had ears and it was better to err on the side of caution in such cases.

Steve still understood him, loudly and clearly, and the tension dissipated off his body to be replaced by a new sort, the sort that Danny could be entirely appreciative of. It was akin to a coil being tightly wound up, ready to spring and snap and burst. A deliciously wicked smile forced Steve’s mouth to curve upward.

‘Fair enough,’ he answered softly, and with that, he leant in to kiss Danny again, kiss him so fully and fiercely that Danny was arching and moaning, pushing his body further into Steve’s as his shaking hands tore holes and ripped Steve’s waistcoat clean off and caused the buttons to ping on the floor. Before Danny could commit any more offences against Steve’s clothes, the man pushed him back and put a little space between them, but Danny’s mouth was still determinedly latched onto Steve’s and there was no outward sign of intention that he had any plan of letting go anytime soon.

‘My,’ Steve murmured, slightly muffled between mouthfuls of Danny, ‘please have more consideration for my clothes, for they are the only good pair I-’

‘I’ll buy you all the clothes from the shops on Chapman Court Rd,’ Danny mumbled, each word he said caused their lips to brush intimately against each other, and Danny was steering them towards the bed before pushing Steve towards the bed, ‘the very finest, if you could be so kind as to shut up.’

Even sprawled against the bedspread which Danny was sure had not been changed since the Stone Age, Steve looked like the very picture of illicit desire itself; his dark brown hair slightly tousled from where Danny had wound his fingers in it earlier, his cheeks flushed rose pink, the flush steadily spreading along his body, his lips wet and swollen and pink and _kissed._ Not to mention his legs were splayed indecently, his chest invitingly on display as the ripped fabric of his shirt and his waistcoat dangled loosely from his sides. He was breathing hard through his nose and Danny could see that he was clearly as affected as he was, for there was a sizeable bulge at the front of his trouser placket. 

‘I will hold you to your word,’ Steve replied with a soupcon of challenge after a few moments, ‘fair warning.’

Their eyes never left each other as they shed their clothes, as they peeled the layers of fabric of their skin, like so many rose petals. Danny should have picked them up off the floor, which looked like it hadn’t been swept and cleaned since the Dark Ages itself, but he was too far gone to care, and, as naked as a newborn, he crawled on top of Steve, who had moved up the bed so that he was reclined against the head of the bed, two pillows propped under him, and they continued their illicit affair, which made the shivers run down Danny’s spine.

Steve’s touch against his skin was hot enough to burn, his fingers roaming and exploring the planes of Danny’s body, skimming his chest and rubbing circles on his forearms, deftly sliding down to his hip, to rest there as he braced his arm around Danny’s shoulder and pulled him down for another heated kiss. Danny reached over to the nightstand where he fumbled for a few moments and retrieved a bottle of oil, before unscrewing it with one hand and dumping most of it in one go between their bodies, his mouth firmly held in place as Steve tried to prove he was evil and a heathen by sucking Danny’s soul out of him. They hissed collectively as the first drops of oil cold enough to burn splashed over their heated bodies.

Soon, the fragrant aroma of sandalwoods filled the air, and they were sliding against each other languidly as Steve’s mouth moved from Danny’s along the plane of his cheek to lick a wet swipe under his jaw, wordlessly demanding access, which in turn caused Danny to moan and offer more of his neck up for Steve to feast on, which he did by nibbling and sucking dark pink welts onto the expanse of skin there. Danny’s clutch on Steve’s shoulders tightened to just the right of painful, but the mild edge of pain only served to heighten the plateaus of Steve’s pleasure and he was panting harshly by now between his breathy moans, his cock insistently dragging against Steve’s, the friction burn removed by the fragrant oil as wet skin slid on wet skin, and felt bloody marvelous.

‘Danny,’ Steve breathed out, as if in prayer as he caught sight of how Danny’s eyes were clenched shut and he was gritting his teeth, looking so wanton, like he couldn’t control himself as all higher rational thought tumbled out the window to be replaced by a baser, more animalistic instinct to drive towards completion.

‘Danny,’ he repeated softly, as the man in question began to grind hard against him and his hands slid on the Danny’s heated, sweaty and oil-slick skin, and he then used most of his upper body strength to push up and force Danny to roll under him. Now, with his body covering the smaller man’s, things were going to be much easier and pleasurable for them both.  

Danny was clearly lost in the haze of pleasure, merely a huff of protest as sex-blown eyes opened to regard Steve, the blue darkened to something very sensual and he actually _whined_ when their cocks stopped rubbing against each other. The sound so quiet, but full of loss that something in Steve actually broke.  Steve put everything that he was into making this as pleasurable for the both of them and he retrieved the small bottle of oil from Danny’s fingertips and scooted off to the side, the sudden rush of cold night air making Danny’s breath hitch.

‘Steven,’ the voice was commanding, ‘what in the name of-’

‘Shhh,’ Steve said, pressing an oil slicked finger to Danny’s lips, which was probably the worst thing he could have done as the man’s mouth seized it and began to suck on it and run his teeth and tongue over the nimble digit, such that Steve’s heartbeat raced even further and he was shuddering under the weight of desire for Danny.

Moving close enough that his cock was bumping against Danny’s thigh, trailing hot wetness across his skin as the angrily red head leaked, Steve removed his finger from Danny’s mouth and slathered a bit of oil on his hands before he seized Danny’s cock and began to give him an earnest massage which of course predictably had Danny a moaning jumble of limbs as he arched into the firm pressure of Steve’s strokes, which were oh so good. His eyes had clenched shut and the curl of his spine was indecent as his hips stuttered and attempted to fuck Steve’s hands.

‘Tell me what you want, Danny,’ Steve said, unable to keep the yearning out of his voice, ‘whatever you want.’

He knew that it was silly to ask, because Danny was so far gone that any sort of coherent reply was impossible for the blonde young man at the moment, but he was very surprised when the hips stilled and the man opened his impossibly blue eyes give Steve a look which made his heart seize in his throat, and realize for the first time that he had stumbled into something completely way over his head.

‘Everything,’ Danny replied in the space of a heartbeat with conviction despite himself, and there was perfect silence except for the sound of a folk ballad being sung at the tavern below, filtering in past the slightly open windows, ‘I want everything.’

Steve searched those blue depths for any sort of uncertainty, only finding desire and serious conviction burning like the brightest of bonfires in those blue eyes, that were as bright and clear as his were dark. Shadows played across the room as they regarded each other, the gravitas of Danny’s words hanging in the air.

Until finally, Steve came to a decision, and swung a leg over Danny such that he was sitting with Danny’s cock bumping against the curve of his ass, rocking slightly and smearing his pre-come on Danny’s stomach as he braced one hand on Danny’s hip and lifted himself up and used the remainder of the oil to open himself up for Danny with his fingers, oil dripping everywhere and making everything smell like sandalwoods.

Danny could only stare as he watched Steve finger himself, watched the way the man’s eyes flitted closed as he lost himself in his own ministrations, readying himself for Danny’s cock which was practically jumping by now with anticipation. It was the most erotically beautiful thing that he had ever seen, even more beautiful and erotic than the snippets of stories he and Rachel had exchanged that summer, when they first met on the River Seine, all those moths ago.

‘Look at me, Danny,’ Steve said to him simply, and his eyes snapped back to those fierce stormy blue ones, and all the breath rushed out of Danny’s lungs and he had to force himself to lock blue on blue as soon he was enveloped in hot, tight heat as Steve lowered himself onto Danny’s cock gradually, and somewhere in the back of Danny’s mind, he equated this to the same feeling he got upon coming home.

Home.

There was a moment of stillness when Steve allowed his body to accommodate and stretch for Danny’s cock, even going so far as attempting to flex his muscles and squeeze the cock inside him more forcefully, the edge of pain sending Danny’s pleasure to new spirals.

‘Steve,’ Danny said, as if in prayer, and with that Steve, was moving up and down on Danny’s cock, his own bobbing insistently against Danny’s stomach and Danny seized Steve’s weeping cock in his hand and began to stroke long and hard on it as his own drove deeper and deeper into Steve, who was rolling his hips for all he was worth as he moved up and down, up and down in a rhythm as old as time itself. A rough keening sound emanated from the back of Steve’s throat as he fucked himself harder and rougher on Danny’s cock.

The pleasure in Danny’s gut that had been building over the course of the evening begun to coil tightly as the proverbial edge moved closer and closer, and as if sensing this, Steve leaned down and captured Danny’s lips in another sizzling kiss and nuzzled the underside of Danny’s jaw, forcing him to tilt his head to the side, bearing the column of bruised flesh.

An oil-slick hand reached out to cover the heady shout of pleasure as Steve milked Danny’s cock as Steve’s orgasm was heralded by the blooming of wetness between their bodies as Danny’s rough tugs sent Steve over the edge.

He bit down hard on the jugular vein in Danny’s throat as the last spasms of pleasure rocked through his body, his fangs finally sinking into the sweat damp skin there and the soon enough, his vision was flooded with crimson as a trail of warm stick wetness trickled down from the two pin pricks on Danny’s neck and the taste of Danny was heady, much like a very fine cognac, but much, much better and sweeter.

Danny’s whole body went rigid as the sharp pull of teeth on his neck was the final thing that did it, and he went over the edge, his scream of completion muffled by Steve’s hand as his orgasm was pulled out of him gloriously, and he was coming, stronger and fiercer than he had ever done before in his life, as Steve clenched against him, and the world went black. 


	4. Of Kings And Horses

Danny awoke in the darkness with a headache the size of Scotland. He awoke to the sight of stormy blue eyes on his form, which was utterly _naked_. Frantically, he seized the sheets and pulled them up over his person, before the memories of everything came flooding back to the fore of his mind, and the fiercest heat stole over his face, until he was flushing right down to his very toes. He ran a hand over the pinpricks on his neck, which had since healed up and were indistinguishable among the trail of passion Steve had left there.  The faint scent of sandalwood was just beyond the edge of his perception, like a ghost of a memory.

And then it all came crashing down on him: he had just had sexual relations with a man he barely even knew, one so clearly below his station that he should be flinching, and he had read enough of those trashy romance horror stories to know that Steve was a vampire. Judging by the way that he had the telltale bite marks on his neck, he was not too far off from becoming one too. Steve picked up the bundle of Danny clothes and handed it to him, averting his eyes as Danny got off the bed to change.

He used the bed sheets to wipe the last of the sandalwood oil of his person, and longed for a long soak in the cast iron tub back at Staffordshire. Anger welled up inside him, making his movements brisk and sharp, until he could no longer resist the temptation, and he was fully dressed again he began to pace on the floor between the fireplace and Steve, his footsteps sounding ominous in the otherwise sterling silence.

‘I’m sorry Danny,’ Steve mumbled, his eyes fixed determinedly on the floor. He was fully clothed again in new clean clothes and had a properly reproachful expression on his face, ‘I clearly let my carnal desires run away from this one. I will understand if you want to turn me over to the Church, now. I won’t fight it.’

The note of defeat in Steve’s last pronouncement had Danny stopping cold in his tracks, and he had to take a few steadying breaths, surprised at how relatively normal being undead felt. In fact, it felt no different to being alive. He pulled a chair away from the desk and sat down on it, opposite Steve who was looking like a condemned man.

‘No,’ Danny replied smartly, ‘for that would be the cowardly way out. I will not allow you the satisfaction.’

Steve looked flabbergasted, ‘but what do you want from me Danny?’

‘I want,’ he started, unsure of how to finish the thought.

He settled for, ‘I want you to fix this, make me a human being again.’

Steve flinched harshly at that, ‘just because you may be classified as undead, Danny, nothing stops you from being human.’

And then it was Danny’s turn to feel like a fool, and dread bloomed in his stomach like a dead weight, ‘I’m very sorry, but there is nothing we can do about it. The change will take place at the next full moon.’

‘What happens then?’ Danny asked, swallowing.

‘You become one of us, Danny, and you will be unable to return to society, for you cannot go into the sun, nor can you see yourself in the mirror. You cannot go back to everything that has defined who you are, and you will have to fight to make a name for yourself amongst the commons,’ Steve replied.

‘Are there any more, physical changes?’ Danny asked.

‘Soon, your eyesight and hearing will sharpen, and you will no longer hunger for the worldly pleasures of food and wine, instead, you will hunger for blood, and your transformation will be complete when you drink the blood of your Sire.’

‘My what?’

Steve grinned a toothy grin at him, ‘me.’

Danny had gone pale by now, ‘and what happens if by the full moon I don’t?’

‘Then you will die, truly die, and nothing I am able to do will help you,’ Steve replied with an air of finality.  Danny nodded.

‘Is there anything else we can do? Is there anyone who can help me?’ Danny pleaded.

Steve thought for a while, ‘yes, there may be someone else who can help us. Come on, let us head to Staffordshire.’

‘Staffordshire?’ Danny echoed, ‘why, who is there?’

‘The Governor should be able to help us,’ Steve replied primly, ‘if anyone has a thought as to how to fix this, then the Governor will. Seize your coat, young man, let us hurry, for time is oppressively against us.’

Steve was right; the full moon was only 3 days away.

Staffordshire was not too far way from Wiltshire when you were in a hurry and practically did not rest for 2 days. Danny was sure to grumble at Steve for an appropriate amount during their travels across the English countryside, their cloaks drawn tightly around their bodies.

‘Danny, do you ever cease talking?’ Steve wondered as they were traipsing through a field of daisies, blowing merrily with each gust of wind. In other circumstances, this would have been very peaceful.

‘No, and thank you, I’m flattered you look so favourably upon my conversationalist skills,’ Danny replied with a liberal helping of snark.

Upon catching the first signs of the familiar honeysuckle scented air of the county lands, Danny immediately felt at ease. However, instead of taking the well beaten path past the meadows and paddocks where the sheep grazed as the Shepherd watched from atop the hill, they took the road less travelled, down past the windy rock face and the quagmires, until they ended up in front of a cave where the soft disembodied voice of a woman floated through.

Steve seized Danny’s hand and pulled him inside the darkness, and Danny’s heart was racing as he went deeper and deeper into the darkness, only to come face to face with a rather comfortable living arrangement, which barring the stone walls and torch brackets where fire crackled merrily, was uncannily similar to the 3rd drawing room in his Estate, just up the path here.

He was expecting to come face to face with a something horrendous, but instead, came face to face with the sight of a woman with short blonde hair, and large expressive brown eyes. She was wearing a shawl and her hands were knobby under the weight of so many jeweled rings, which glinted warmly in the dull light as she reclined on a rather plush chair, a crystal orb glowing with milky light giving the whole situation an ethereal feel.

Something completely unexpected was how the Countess Kono was crouched on the floor below her, murmuring words in Latin as she adjusted the flames under a large black cauldron, the trim of her elegant white gown imbedded with dirt as she attempted to stand up.

‘Countess Kono, it is a very big surprise to see you here!’ Danny exclaimed, rushing forward to help the lady up. To him, it didn’t matter your state of undeadness, manners were somewhat of a religion.

She faltered, and barely avoided falling back down again due to the soft warm hand clutched loosely at her hip, and flushed the deepest pink, ‘Duke Daniel, I didn’t expect- why are you here?’ she couldn’t keep the note of incredulousness away from her voice.

‘Steve,’ the woman said, ‘what brings you here into my humble abode?’ She then turned her eyes and surveyed Danny, ‘and why have you brought this young Duke here with you?’ finally she turned to Danny, ‘and why are you here of all places, shouldn’t you be back at the Estate? Your father is very worried about you.’

Now it was Steve’s turn to stare incredulously, ‘Danny is a _Duke_?’

‘He is The Honourable Daniel Reginald Pius Claremont Williams, the 2nd Duke of Staffordshire,’ Kono mentioned, before scooping a whole bowl of frog legs and adding them to the forest green sludge bubbling away in the cauldron, ‘Steve, what were you thinking? For he is already betrothed to the Lady Jennifer Kaye.’

‘What?’ Danny almost shouted out, but managed to stop himself, barely, ‘and Countess, how can you make such reprehensible presumptions about my…I…’ he spluttered, and only then noticed how his hand was still entwined tightly against Steve’s.

He wretched it out with one fluid moment.

Steve’s expression became murderous as he turned onto Danny, who involuntarily took a step back, ‘you are betrothed to the Lady Kaye and you still sought me out like that?’

‘Steve stop,’ the woman said, holding up a hand, ‘the announcement was posted up on the Staffordshire notice board not long ago, so this is undoubtedly a shock for you both. Please sit down, and would you like some frog leg soup? Kono makes a lovely one.’

‘No thank you,’ they both said as they sat down, only after Kono sat. Steve was avoiding Danny’s gaze, fixed intently on the woman.

‘Governor,’ Steve started, running a hand through his hair, ‘Danny is now one of us. We come to you seeking advice on whether or not the transformation can be reversed or avoided.’

‘Steve,’ the Governor said after she placed the glowing orb delicately on the table and laced her fingers together, ‘you know that the folklore is absolute on this matter, you know that once the venom is injected, it can not be expelled. Therefore, there is no way of reversing the transformation.’  

She turned her brown gaze to Danny, ‘I’m sorry young man, but there is not a lot that can be done.’

It was all too much - Danny could not help himself; he knocked the crystal orb over with a resounding crash on the floor as he abruptly stood up and ran outside of the cave, outside into the open air and tried to swallow big gasps of air, big enough that he thought his lungs would burst with the sheer size of his breaths as he tried to regain his composure, but it was a moot action, because he no longer needed air to survive, the actions which had long helped to calm him were useless now.

He was standing in front of the lake, thinking of how easy it would be to allow himself to just fall into the unfathomable depths and just stay there, but unfortunately death would not come so easily, because he was already part of the _undead,_ when a warm hand settled onto his shoulder, and he found himself pulled into a hug, his cheek resting against the angle of Steve’s shoulder as he just stilled, and savoured what would very well be the last port left available to him in this storm _,_ for there was no way that he could face his father and no one else he could turn to.

‘I’m sorry,’ Steve said again, and it didn’t matter, not one bit, because even if Steve the heathen got on his knees in supplication or prayed to the Lord for forgiveness, the fact was Danny would still turn into a vampire at the end of this and he would never be able to face his father again or see the faces of all his friends again, for they were all strongly religious and they all took the Holy Book seriously; Danny was now akin to _Beelzebub_ in their minds. He was more likely to find himself burned on a stake, screaming in agony than back with them again.  

‘Stop saying that,’ Danny let himself look up into those stormy blue eyes, ‘it is completely inefficacious to spout such maudlin thoughts at this time.’

He lifted a hand to frame Steve’s jaw, enjoying the rough catch of stubble and the as the man smiled at him, ‘that sounded positively normally loquacious,’ he said, catching Danny’s hand in his own, smoothing out the tremors there.

‘Aren’t I always?’ Danny challenged, feeling a little bit better that he didn’t have to face this alone, that Steve was here and Steve was going to support him in whatever was about to happen, and that gave him more comfort that ne could bear to admit.

‘I didn’t mean to ruin your life, you had so much going for you; a dukedom, a betrothal, your lovely circle of friends-’ Steve was cut off by Danny’s snort, which was completely inelegant, as he shook his head.

‘At the end of the day, they all mean nothing, because I was unhappy since I was so utterly unsatisfied with everything. Sure, if I wanted pointless conversation, I would have it. If I wanted all the finest clothes available, I could have them. If I wanted power and perhaps a chance of becoming a member of the Order of the British Empire, I could, with half the amount of work required. But at the end of the day, I would be very lonely, because…’ Danny faltered, unable to go on.

‘But what Danny?’ Steve prompted, and at the hopefulness shining in those eyes, Danny could not refuse him, he did not have it in himself, and swallowed thickly, because only then did he realize that he indeed had everything he wanted, that Fate had smiled benignly down on him and in her own twisted way, had blessed him.

‘I wouldn’t have you,’ Danny finally admitted, before they are kissing again, their noses bumping into each other and they clutched and clawed at each other, buoyed by Danny’s confession, buoyed by their acceptance of each other and acceptance of the bright future ahead of them together.

A loud ‘ahem’ snapped them out of their actions and they steadily flush bright red when they came face to face with Kono’s smile and the knowing glint in her eyes, and Danny wholeheartedly wished that the ground would open up and swallow him whole.

‘Danny, there are no words to describe how happy I am that you have finally found the person just for you,’ she said, ‘but now, we need to figure out what to do about your parents. You cannot just disappear without a trace, what would your Mother think? It is very possible that she would die of grief.’

‘Kono is right, Danny,’ Steve admitted, ‘we do need to gently extract you from the world of the Aristocratic upper class. I would like you to understand, that once you turn your back on it, you can never go back.’

Danny was silent for a few moments, but then came to his decision, ‘I know, and it will be alright, I’m sure of it.’ What he didn’t say was how hard it was going to be to not be able to see his parents again, to have his parents grieving for him while he was still very much alive, while he watched their world around him collapsed.

Either way, it was still better than the alternative: which was his parents finding out about Steve and suffering the scandal to end all scandals when the word spread that their son was a vampire and he had turned after a night of passion and debauchery with a _man_.

Yes, it was better to let go, than to try and cling to a life that could not work for him anymore.

‘Right,’ he spoke up after a while, ‘what shall we do about this?’

‘I will ask Chin for his advice,’ Kono said, ‘he should be able to help you, for he is very clever.’

‘I have a plan,’ Steve said, ‘I could discuss this with Chin when he arrives and is properly updated with the situation. With his help, I’m sure something can be arranged.’

‘One moment, how do you all know each other?’ Danny asked.

‘A parable for another time,’ Steve stated idly, before continuing, ‘when is the soonest time Chin can get out here?’

At the look of sheer insurmountable determination on Steve’s face, Danny wondered for the first, and not the last time:

 _What have I gotten myself into?_


	5. Chivalry Is Never Dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone,
> 
> Thank you for sticking out with me until the very end of this story, I hope you've enjoyed my attempt at a Regency Romance.
> 
> Firstly, I would like to thank the awesomely terrible (not to mention terrifying) enabling duo LadyOscar and bfive0 for holding my hand and providing so much support throughout the writing of this story.
> 
> LadyOscar, our endless amusing Yahoo conversations helped to power me through the tough bits in writing this, especially the ending resolution because it is always harder to tidy after a storm than it is to create one. And yes I will try to write an original series Five O vampire story for you, when I can finally think of something. Or I may just end up writing the slashtastic version of the next instalment of 'Danno Does Karaoke' where Steve has to do everything that Danny says ;)
> 
> And Banana, I am so sorry that I couldn't fit 'bananas' in here somehow, so definitely be expecting a sordidly dirty (filthy even) story about all the things that Steve can do to Danny with a banana once I finish my exams.
> 
> Secondly, to all of the readers who have left me a kudos/comment/online love, you guys are awesome. Awesome, I tell you! I would like to thank my personal team of cheerleaders on both AO3 and over at LJ, because your feedback was the metaphorical kick in the behind that I needed to get moving on this story. You know who you are.
> 
> Much love to all of you, for now is the time to bid adieu to this story and move onto more exciting and promising things.
> 
> Jen

There are some things that Danny will definitely miss from his old life, or what was soon to become his old life, such as the lime tree bower on the east side of the Estate and those odd freshly fried dough biscuity things the exotic cook Kamekona brought from the Islands of Hawaii called malasadas.

However, he was glad to be rid of other things, namely his parent’s irritating concern. As planned, he had stumbled into the grounds of the estate as per Steve and Chin’s express wishes, where within a few moments he was seen by the servants and escorted up to the drawing room, where he came face to face with his parents.

‘Daniel!’ his mother shrieked as she launched off the settee and embraced him in her arms, ‘where have you been, oh my goodness, we’ve been so worried-’

He hugged her back, savouring the warmth and love she had to offer, and yes, this was one of the things he was going to miss. It ended up on a list he had been cataloguing in the back of his mind.

‘I am so sorry Mother, for I ended up getting a little bit lost on the way back from Wiltshire and had to stop by at an inn for two nights. I would have sent message ahead of my whereabouts but I supposed I would undoubtedly get home before the herald can deliver the message.’ 

‘Now son,’ his father began, but at the look of apology and shame on his son’s face, he couldn’t quite continue on in this vein, and sighed, ‘we have accepted the Lord and Lady Kaye’s dowry for Jennifer, and we expect the two of you to get married in a quiet Church ceremony by the end of the month.’ 

‘Congratulations, dear,’ his mother said, before returning to the settee and lifting a lace handkerchief up to her face to dabble the tears of joy leaking from her eyes, ‘my son, finally married off.’

Danny’s eyes snapped up to frame his father’s face, searching for something, ‘but father, I hardly know the young Lady Kaye, we are no more than mere strangers to each other, I cannot-’

‘You have no choice on the matter Daniel,’ he replied frostily, ‘I believe I gave you the choice to find a wife for yourself, and since you are incapable of doing so, I have assisted you, in the best way I can. Don’t make things harder for yourself, son.’

Irritation bristled, and it was on the tip of his tongue to correct his father and say something about how he had found the person just for him and he could take all the rules and expectations of society and just, well, stick them somewhere much more useful.

But Danny remember the plan and Chin’s instructions that at no time or under any circumstances was he to deviate from the plan, and he remembered how serious Steve had insisted on following Chin’s plan, that for the first time in his life, he wisely held his tongue in check, and merely nodded his assent.

‘Yes, father.’

The Duke of Staffordshire clapped his hands together, ‘excellent! Now, let us prepare for a day out. Shall we head into town to visit your brother?’

‘Why would we want to see Matthew?’ Danny asked.

‘To bring him news of your betrothal, of course!’ his mother said, ‘oh, and who can resist the impulse to visit Grace?’

With that, they were heading into town in the horse drawn carriage, and Danny surveyed the landscape of rolling hills dotted with sheep and cows, and the paddocks full of fresh vegetables and exotic fruits, and a maudlin mood settled over him. He sighed, bracing his arm against the window and propping his hand under his chin. Sunshine filtered in through the window, and he savoured the glorious warmth, as this was going to be the last time he would be able to enjoy it.

‘Is something wrong, dear?’ his mother queried from across him. His father was gazing at him impetuously, his cane braced against his left leg.

‘I feel a bit ill, Mother,’ he answered, ‘but it should pass with time. I look forward to seeing Grace again.’

The carriage ride passed by in silence, before long they were pulling up at the front of his brother’s rented abode, just slightly outside the town centre, and Danny hopped down off the carriage, before holding out his arm to help his mother step down daintily. Matthew and Grace were waiting for them, and as soon as his mother was safely down on the ground again, he bent down to scoop his favourite squirming bundle of ribbons and lace up for a hug.

‘Uncle Danno,’ she squealed at him, bracing her hands around his neck, ‘it is most wonderful to see you again, have you any new presents for me today?’

‘Grace,’ Matthew admonished, ‘it is not nice to demand such things from your uncle,’ his familiar blue gaze snapped up, ‘Daniel,’ he nodded curtly.

‘Matthew,’ Danny echoed.

He didn’t know where this hostility between them had sprung up, for they had been very close growing up, but he was certain it had something to do with the way their father had bypassed Matthew in line for the Dukedom even though he was the older son, but that was because Matthew was incapable of holding any position of authority. It was well known in the Aristocratic circles that he was a liar and a cheat, with massive levels of gambling debts and it was only his marriage to the daughter of the second richest Industrialist family that saved him from a fate worse than death at the hands of the debt collectors.

Furthermore, scandalous rumours still existed, even to this day, that his marriage to Miss Huxley had been a betrothal of convenience, for there was reason to believe that she was with child, his child, to be exact, before they were married, under the bower of the apple tree at spring time.

Danny might not agree with his father on a lot of things, but he definitely agreed with his father in this respect, and he was sure that Matthew resented him for it, for Danny had advised their father in considering Matthew for the 2nd Dukedom, but it was half-hearted to be honest. 

The fact that Danny was throwing everything to the wind was moot, and he resolved that he would make the peace with his brother, by sundown tonight.

‘Hello Monkey,’ Danny greeted cheerfully, ‘I have a present for you.’ He extracted from his pocket a small shell he had managed to pick up for Grace, the last time he was out on the fine shores of Torquay. It was cool and smooth and pure white.

He had to resist the strong impulse to raise his hands to his ears as she squealed in delight as she took the shell from him, and cradled it lovingly in her arms. A fresh wave of sadness washed over him as he reminded himself that this was going to be the last time he was going to see Grace again.

‘Thank you Uncle Danno, I will be sure to add it to my collection! I know have something from Torquay! Most of the shells in my collection have come from the shores of Teignmouth.’

‘Why don’t you go and add them to your collection and play with Mr Hoppy for a while, Grace?’ Matthew said, ‘your Uncle Danno and I have something to discuss.’

‘Sure, Papa!’ and with that, she was skipping back inside, her hair glinting in the sunlight.

‘Mother, Father,’ Matthew said in lieu of greeting, as he bowed deeply, ‘it is a pleasure to see you again. But please excuse me, why don’t you wait for us in the drawing room? Daniel and I have something to discuss.’

‘That sounds like a marvelous idea, travelling by carriage always tires me out greatly!’ their Mother said, ‘come on, Reginald, let the boys talk,’ and with that, she was escorting the Duke firmly up the stairs into the house, prattling away about Earl Grey Tea. 

Matthew looked to Danny, his eyes slightly narrowed and calculating, he extended an arm in the general direction of the garden, ‘shall we take a turn around the garden, for old time’s sake?’

‘Sure,’ Danny replied amiably as they set off to take a turn around a particularly densely populated area of the garden, half hidden among the bushes of roses and camellias.

‘I know about the plan,’ Matthew said suddenly, turning to face Danny.

‘My betrothal to the young Lady Kaye? Why, that is hardly new news, Matthew,’ Danny replied with a sense of sass he didn’t really feel.

‘Daniel, you know which one I am talking about. Shall we take a seat on the bench there and discuss things for a while?’

‘I don’t think we should leave Grace alone for too long, besides, our parents,’ Danny protested feebly, but then sat down on the bench alongside Matthew anyway.

‘Countess Kono told me all about it,’ Matthew said as he stretched his legs out in front of him, ‘I am privy to the plan, because I have a role to play in this plot as well.’

‘Kono, that meddling woman,’ Danny sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

‘So then, I guess this means that this will be it, and I will get the 2nd Dukedom to Staffordshire,’ Matthew mused out loud, and a grin spread out on his face, ‘I wanted to make peace with you, brother. Over everything.’

Danny looked at Matthew, really looked, to try and see if he was indeed trying to pull the wool over his eyes. All he found in those crystal clear blue depths was genuine amusement, ‘how much information did the Countess provide?’

‘Enough to ensure my cooperation, though of course, some details were omitted,’ a smile broke out over his features, ‘I was hoping that you could correct some of my queries over all of this.’

Danny swallowed, ‘I would like to certainly, yes, but I reserve the right to decline to answer some of those questions, specifically the more illicit ones.’

‘Ah!’ Matthew exclaimed, but at Danny’s glare he quieted down, ‘ah, but that is primarily where my interest is. Tell me, who is this fair maiden who has stolen your heart so sneakily away from the Lady Kaye, for I would very much like to meet her.’

‘This person,’ Danny emphasized, ‘managed to show me that there is more to the world than mere privilege, that amusement can be found in the most unlikely of places, that sometimes there is a requirement for a fresh start.’

‘I see, so this person is a man then,’ Matthew reasoned, and Danny bit back a cough, as Matthew clapped a hand on his back, pitching him forward, ‘good work, man! I’m glad you’ve been able to sort things out, for the rumours have been milled frequently enough.’

‘What rumours?’ Danny bit out, trying to avoid the steady flush of heat crawling up his cheeks.

‘The rumours have been saying that you have a propensity to prefer your own,’ Matthew said conspiratorially,  ‘for though you have been of a marriageable age for so long, yet despite the intense interests of the ladies in the Court, you steadfastly refuse them.’ 

‘Was it really that obvious?’ Danny choked out as Matthew rubbed his back soothingly.

‘To me it was, oh come now, brother! You don’t think you could hide this sort of thing from me, for I lived with you for a while, and I noticed that whilst you showed no interest in the ladies, you were always very close to our gardener, Mr Taylor.’

‘Mr Taylor and I were close friends, nothing more, oh my God, you have a horridly impure mind - that was probably the reason why you were rushed to the altar with Miss Huxley,’ Danny mumbled out, his ears bright red.

‘The rumours have to originate somewhere, fair brother,’ Matthew quipped, grinning at him.

‘But, this doesn’t bother you, not at all?’ Danny asked incredulously.

‘No, because I for one, can understand that the heart wants what the heart wants, and no amount of money or external pressure can change it. I’m very happy for you, Daniel, really I am,’ Matthew replied, and a surge of warmth and affection for him washes over Danny, who gave into the impulse and gave him a hug.

‘I just hope that you won’t cause too much mischief as the 2nd Duke of Staffordshire, because I don’t think our Father is quite above taking the title away from you should any more indiscretions come to light.’

‘I have Grace now,’ Matthew said, ‘and that is all I need. I just hope that wherever you are, whatever you’re doing afterwards, you remember to send her a letter occasionally. She will be sad if one day Uncle Danno won’t be there for her.’

‘I will, Matthew, I promise.’

Matthew let go and turned to face Danny, ‘shall we head into town? I have booked a table at the bet restaurant in town to celebrate your betrothal to the Lady Kaye. Let us head back now.’

***  
Danny’s parents, being the relentless social circle climbers that they were, invited all of their acquaintances, including Kono, Chin, the Lord and Lady Kaye and their daughter Jenna, as well was what was probably half the Royal Court, the half that were in favour with the Prince Regent at the moment. The small restaurant was crowded with so much luxurious silk and jewels and gold that everywhere Danny looked, there was glitter. His head was buzzing with snippets of polite dinner conversation, such as the forthcoming ascent of the Price Regent as George the IV.

They were halfway through the 5th course of roast pheasants in red wine sauce, Yorkshire pudding and garlic and herb butter roasted vegetables before a wave of dizziness washed over Danny, such that he found his world was tilting and he stood up out of his own accord.

‘Danny!’ Jenna exclaimed, moving a hand to put on his back, ‘are you quite all right? You’ve gone as white as a ghost!’

He waved a hand as the titters of polite conversation died and all eyes turned to fix on him. He fumbled with his cravat as he felt the air rush out of him and the world began to spin. It was getting harder and harder to breathe, despite the fact that he was pulling in very large gasps of air.

‘Someone, call a doctor!’ the Duke of Northumberland called. In the shadows a maid ran off to summon the messenger boy with an urgent summons for the town doctor, Dr Bergman.

‘I need to get some fresh air,’ Danny wheezed, clutching his head, ‘please excuse me, for this grievous inconvenience, I must get some air.’

‘You should lie down Daniel!’ Jenna gasped, ‘for I don’t think it is good to be out and about in such a condition, please, go find a spare room at the Town Inn, and please rest.’

‘No, I think I’ll just take a walk instead, some fresh air will do me some good,’ Danny retorted, bracing a hand against the wall.

‘Her Ladyship is right,’ his father said, ‘I think you should lie down, Daniel. Go to the Inn, and obtain a room, once we finish this course here, we shall be by to collect you and take you home.’

‘Alright, Father,’ Danny said.

‘I’ll help get him to the Inn,’ Chin offered, a smile on his face. The Duke of Staffordshire nodded his assent, and with one arm braced against Chin’s shoulder, and one of Chin’s hands curled loosely against his hip, they were walking out of the small dimly light restaurant, and Danny was relieved once he was out in the open air again, and away from Jenna’s constant babbling about how he might have picked up an ailment during his stay at one of the Inns during his 2 day travels from Wiltshire.

Once they were on the street and in front of the Inn, Chin turned to face Danny, ‘Danny, I have to-Danny! Are you really alright?’

‘No, you idiot, for did you think I would fake this?’ Danny rasped out, ‘help me, I think I’m dying.’

‘Hold on, Danny, just hold on,’ Chin entered the Inn with Danny draped over him and requested a room, staunchly ignoring the questioning stares of the staff. Once they had the key to room 5 they made their way along the narrow corridor, until they reached the room and pushed it open, to find a worried Steve pacing inside it. He abruptly stilled and rushed over to Danny, and carried him over to the bed. Danny was shaking and shivering, his lips going blue as cold sweat dotted his forehead. Steve raised a hand to brush the damp errant strands of hair out of his face, before turning to look at Chin.

‘How much time to I have?’ he asked.

‘I can give you at most 45 minutes,’ Chin replied, crossing his arms.

‘That’s fine, you head back, and make sure that you and Kono play your parts to perfection.’

‘Right,’ and with that Chin had closed the door with a snap, and locked the door from the outside.

‘Danny,’ Steve breathed out. He took off his travelling cloak and shoved it down to pool at his feet as he swung a leg over Danny’s torso and saddled himself on Danny. He shrugged off his waistcoat and unbuttoned his shirt, taking off his ruffled cravat in the process.

Danny’s breathing had evened out, because he was near his Sire, and those blue eyes half-lidded as they surveyed Steve drowsily, a content smile curling his lips.

‘Steve, I feel like I’m drowning, I can’t breathe, I-’ one of Steve’s nimble fingers pressed against Danny’s lips, making him silent.' 

‘You should have come to me earlier, Danny,’ Steve reproached softly, licking a swipe up his left palm, ‘I have been waiting for you here since sundown, and I’ve told you how dangerous it is to wait until the full moon is high in the sky to come to me.’

‘I’m here now, give it to me,’ Danny was amazed at suddenly how hungry he felt, and this was a different type of hunger, one that no ordinary wine or food could sate. He was sure that this had something to do with his proximity to Steve.

Steve procured a small knife from somewhere and nicked his wrist with it, just a small cut, but at such an angle that blood welled up bright red against his skin, and he pressed it to Danny’s mouth.

To Danny, the smell of Steve’s blood was powerful and heady, like the best red wine from the vineyards on the Riviera, except better and he couldn’t help himself, for soon he had latched his mouth onto the soft skin there, savouring the way the skin jumped with each flutter of Steve’s heart. His tongue crept out to lave at the soft skin there, closing the wound as he felt his strength return and his breathing return to normal.

He scrunched his eyes shut and reopened them, only to find that he could smell much more things in minute detail; like he caught the smell of old tobacco smoke and stale beer from the kitchens underneath, the soft notes of lavender filtering in from the open window. He was also surprised that he could see Steve clearly despite the darkness of the room, as if Steve was standing in sunlight.

The most surprising thing was, he found his cock straining uncomfortably against his trouser placket. He looked at Steve, and caught the almost silent huff of laughter as knowledge danced with amusement in those eyes and he shifted his hips against Danny’s erection, ‘that is supposed to happen, it’s a sign that you’re still very much alive.’

‘But I’m part of the undead now,’ Danny replied, confused.

‘So you are,’ Steve said finally, before leaning down to kiss Danny hard on the mouth, as his hands braced themselves on Danny shoulders, and he did something, some sort of flip, where he was now underneath Danny and Danny was on top of him, and Danny liked the feel of Steve under him, pulling his closer as their tongues danced and Danny shucked out of his waistcoat and pulled his shirt and cravat off, leaving them in piles on the bed. Their arms tangled as Danny shed his clothes as quickly as possible. 

‘So then, it’s normal to feel this amorous in your first moments after becoming a vampire?’ Danny asked as he pressed kisses into the corner of Steve’s mouth, before licking a trail from his mouth to the soft spot under his ear, and he licked the curve of Steve’s ear, drawing out a breathy moan as he nipped and laved at the soft shell, Steve’s hands coming up to fist in Danny’s hair.

‘Yes, its all part of the process.’ Steve’s hands skimmed down the sides of Danny’s body as his thumb hitched into the top of Danny’s trousers and pulled them down with one fluid movement, causing Danny to hiss at the combination of cold air and the rough feel of Steve’s hot and calloused hand on his cock, the calluses dragging over each ridge and vein, causing Danny to arch into Steve’s touch as the man began to slide the foreskin up and down, but never actually touching the head, so much so that Danny was softly keening, ‘you will become one of the night when you take me, for then, the circle will be complete.’

Danny stilled his ministrations, which at the moment had been suckling softly on the smooth skin on Steve’s neck. He picked his head up to look at Steve in the eye, ‘so that means that to become a vampire-’

Steve was staring haughtily at him now and let go of Danny’s cock, ‘Danny, we need to get a move on-’

‘-You had to bite me and then have sex with me?’ Danny queried, his hands still braced on Steve’s shoulders.

‘Yes,’ Steve finally admitted, ‘now, do you have anymore enlightening questions or can we please move on now?’

‘Fine,’ Danny muttered simply, and he scooted back a little bit to make short work of Steve’s belt before throwing it to the floor, where it clattered loudly against the wood and divested Steve of his trousers, merely pushing them down so far that the man’s cock sprung free of its confines, and Danny licked his lips and bent down to lave at the bead of pre-come that had settled at the tip. 

Steve moaned and tried to arch into it, to get more of that delicious sensation, but Danny pinned his hip down, and continued at his own pace. The pre-come was slightly bitter, but it was tolerable, and very much worth it just to see Steve unravel, or come apart at the seams, more like.

It felt strange to have his hands down the pants of another man (proverbially of course, for Steve’s pants were around his ankles at this stage) but it was exciting nonetheless, and a spark of pleasure ignited in Danny at the fact that he could reduce Steve to a jumble of limbs and sinew, that he could cause the man to throw his head back against the pillow and look like something from one of the more erotic Regency Romance novels floating around the bookshops, the ones meant to be read in the private purview of the bedroom in front of a crackling fire with a glass of rose wine. It was a heady feeling.

He tried to fit the whole thing into his mouth but it was too big, so Danny merely settled for twisting his fist up and down the length of Steve’s cock as he sucked the head, his lips firmly clamped over the top and his bottom teeth digging slightly into the ridge underneath as he stroked. Soon the room was filled with Steve’s breathy moans and Danny noticed that his fingers were curled in the sheets, knuckles bright white.

‘Danny,’ Steve managed to gasp out, ‘don’t make this harder on yourself.’

‘What do you mean?’ Those clear blue eyes were shining with lust now, a knowing glint in his eyes, ‘and my, that was a terrible pun anyway.’

Steve glared at him, which in turn caused him to giggle, ‘we’ve dallied away close to 15 minutes already, we can’t afford to be seen together, seen like this.’

Danny sighed, ‘yes, that is true.’

There was a very pregnant pause.

‘I’ve never done this before,’ he blurted out, as red stained his cheeks and he averted his gaze, ‘I don’t know where to start. What?’ he exclaimed, as Steve flipped both of them over, so now Danny was the one pinned against the bed.

Steve leaned down and pressed the length of his body against Danny’s such that warmth leached off their bodies, and Danny could hear their heartbeats in tandem, and air rushed out of his lungs as Steve’s lips brushed his ear.

‘I’ll make this so good for you, Danny. I’ll make sure to have you begging for it by the time I’m through,’ he said as he licked a wet stripe behind Danny’s ear and the man moaned. He reached a long limbed hand to the pocket of his trousers, and extracted a small bottle of oil and unscrewed it with one hand, before he slid down the length of Danny’s body and left a wet trail of butterfly kisses across the smooth expanse of skin there.

‘Part your legs for me,’ Steve said quietly, and Danny complied, spreading his legs as far as was comfortable, as Steve settled in front of Danny and put some of the oil onto his hands and proceeded to rub the oil onto Danny’s skin, across the hollow of the joint between his hip and thigh, along the flat planes of his navel and onto his cock. He grasped Danny’s cock firmly in one hand and began to move up and down in a rhythm as old as time itself, and used the other hand to smooth some more oil onto Danny’s cheeks, before parting them and circling the entrance to his body, rubbing more oil into Danny’s skin. Soon the room was filled with the strong scent of sandalwood again as a digit rubbed circles maddeningly around the entrance, and Steve was pleased to see that the tight ring of muscle was contracting.

‘Are you ready, Danny?’ Steve asked, more out of politeness than anything, because it was very clear that Danny was going to say yes to whatever he wanted.

‘Yes Steve,’ he replied, ‘I’m ready.’

Steve continued to rub circles onto the skin there before he carefully pushed one finger in, and let it stay still for a few moments, as Danny’s body contracted and squeezed around the digit. He was breathing very hard by now, the excitement making him giddy. Danny was gasping for air as he moaned, low and throaty, into the room.

When he was certain that Danny was ready for it, he added a second oil slicked finger in, and began to do a series of scissoring motions to open Danny up and get him ready for Steve’s cock as his fingers slid in and out of Danny’s body smoothly. Danny had even gone so far as push back against Steve’s fingers as he worked them in and out, in and out.

‘Doesn’t that feel good?’ Steve asked innocently, fully aware of the effect his hands were having on Danny’s cock and the opening to his body.

‘Yes,’ Danny sounded out, practically caressing the ‘s’ sound with his tongue.

‘Imagine what it would feel like,’ Steve said seductively as he added the third finger in and Danny moaned again, arching into both the new sensation and Steve’s hand on his cock, which was glistening in the darkness from all of Danny’s pre-come and the sandalwood infused oil, ‘imagine what it would feel like to have my cock up there, filling you so full that you can’t breathe, can’t do anything but take it, like the man I know you are.’

‘Do it,’ Danny breathed out, ‘do it right now.’

Steve withdrew his fingers and then slathered some of the oil onto his own cock, before he positioned himself at Danny’s entrance, and gradually guided his cock in, oh so slowly, savouring Danny’s tight heat and the flex of his muscles and Danny’s hands are reaching out, reaching for somebody to cling onto, to sooth the hurt that he must undoubtedly be feeling now as Steve pushes into him. 

Steve leant down, pressing his weight down on Danny, forcing the man’s legs wider apart as they lock eyes onto each other and Danny raised his hands to curl them around the column of Steve’s neck, his fingers slipping and sliding on the sweat drenched skin there.

They kissed again, their mouths clamping down around each other as Steve began to move tentatively in and out of Danny, gradually building his rhythm, as he really didn’t want to hurt Danny. It didn’t take long before Steve was making love to Danny in earnest, keeping his strokes strong and consistent, as if possible, he would get doing this until the end of time as sweat dappled his brow and they moved against each other, savouring the pool of warmth between their bodies and the way they seemed to meld into each other, as if they were made for each other.

Danny, felt like he had died and gone to heaven, because this was sinfully good as pleasure sparked everywhere in his body; in his cock as it rubbed against the hardness of Steve’s abs, down there of all places, all the points on his body where his skin touched Steve’s and in his mouth, where Steve was kissing him languidly, and all Danny could taste was Steve, all he could feel was Steve, all he could breathe in was Steve.

It was a sensory overload and it didn’t take long before Danny was shouting his completion, and Steve clamped down firmly on his lips to muffle the sounds of Danny’s pleasure, which was blindingly achingly good, as wetness bloomed between their bodies, mingling with the sweat.

Danny was clenching and spasming around Steve now as he rode out his orgasm, his head tossed to the side as Steve licked a stripe down the soft skin there and bit down hard, his fangs sinking into the flesh there to draw blood, and the taste of Danny, salty due to his sweat and the richness of his blood, which shone bright crimson. That was all that it took to send Steve over the edge, and he came, pressed deliciously flush against Danny’s body as he watched the blood seep out of him, out onto the white sheets below them, and a part of Steve was pained to see all that wonderful blood, rich and warm and lovely, like the best glass of port, go to waste.

Steve slumped bonelessly on top of Danny, and they both laid there, trying desperately to regain their breath, as their chests heaved in tandem to their heartbeat. It was a few moments before Steve could speak. He reached up to splay his fingers across Danny’s chest, where his madly fluttering heart would be. A lazy smile curled on his lips.

‘So, have I proven myself yet?’ Steve asked smugly.

‘Oh my God,’ Danny said, in way of reply, ‘if you’re going to be this intolerable afterwards, what have I gotten myself into?’

Steve huffed a breath of laughter, ‘I can be a lot of things, but now, I need to not be here.’ He moved to roll off Danny, sliding out of him in the process, ‘Chin should be here along with everyone else in a few moments.’ He retrieved two handkerchiefs from a small bag at the foot of the bed and used one to wipe down Danny’s come covered stomach, and the other to wipe away the sweat on his face, the motions gentle and loving. Steve’s fingers lingered for a while and Danny leaned into them for a few moments longer, before Steve stood up from the bed and helped Danny to put his clothes back on, and rearrange them so that it looked like he had just settled down on the bed for a little sleep, and then had been murdered.

‘Now Danny, I will remind you, that once everyone arrives, under no circumstances are you to move, nor are you to breathe. You must remain perfectly still. Good luck.’ Steve allowed himself one final glance at Danny once his clothes were properly arranged and his travelling cloak was back on, and with a nod, he climbed up onto the window ledge, and disappeared into the night.

Danny raised a hand up to the two puncture mark on the side of his neck and shifted slightly, for the blood was seeping underneath his body, into his shirt and the wetness was starting to annoy him, becoming gradually sticky. However, he stopped breathing, and was surprised to see that it came naturally to him, that he was now officially part of the Undead, and he wasn’t going to die or anything just because he wasn’t breathing. Coldness settled over his skin, making his limbs feel heavy and dull. A few moments passed and he allowed his eyes to drift close, and he could feel his heart slow down, until his heartbeat sounded sluggish and from the street he could hear the gaggle of voices, led by his Father and Lord Kaye, as well as a few others. He felt a twinge of pain when he heard Grace’s voice filter through as well, and of course, Doctor Bergman’s.

He willed himself to remain perfectly still as the voices and the footsteps got closer. Soon enough the door was pushed open and then his mother let out a scream of anguish that he would never forget as she sunk to the floor, sobbing brokenly. There were a few heavy footsteps across the room before the good doctor leant over Danny’s body, feeling his neck for a pulse.

‘Oh my Lord,’ Jenna’s voice filtered through, ‘look at all this blood! This could have only happened if someone had especially chosen to cut into Danny’s artery, all that blood.’

Danny’s head was moved side the side as the doctor examined the side of his neck, ‘from what I can see, there are two distinct puncture wounds on the side of the 2nd Duke’s neck. He appears to have bled to death from the puncture wounds.’

‘One moment,’ Jenna stated, and Danny could hear her intake of breath, ‘Danny’s been bitten by a vampire. I’ve read about them, we need to get Danny to a church sanctuary so the monks can-’

‘Pardon me, young Miss,’ Dr Bergman’s voice floated through, ‘but please be quiet for one second. There are no such things as vampires; they are merely figments of whimsical, fanciful imagination. The 2nd Duke here has been murdered.’

‘I swear, with God as my witness,’ the Duke ground out, ‘I will utilize all my powers to find the person who killed my son and bring them to justice.’ Danny can hear the shuffling of his father’s boots on the floor. ‘Thank you Doctor Bergman, we shall make arrangements to bring his body home. I declare the next week to be a week of mourning.’

Jenna would not give up though, and a small part of him wanted to reach out and strangle her, ‘but wait, I clearly remember hearing the Town Crier heralding the killing of a vampire coven in Wiltshire a few weeks ago; they do exist, and we need-’

‘Lady Kaye, I am sorry to be so abrupt,’ Chin’s voice cut across, ‘but neither of these issues are of any concern to you. Please let the people who are responsible for the former 2nd Duke look after this-’

‘How dare you!’ Jenna shrieked truly horribly, her voice heaving with emotion, ‘he was your best friend, how can you be so cold and aloof to all of this! He was my fiancé, he was-’

‘He may have been your fiancé,’ Kono mentioned, her voice firm, ‘but he is no longer your fiancé, nor can he ever be again,’ the note of harshness in Kono’s voice softened, ‘come now Lady Jenna, let us retire for the evening, let us cast our minds to much less distressing matters.’

Danny can hear the sounds of Kono’s arm sliding around Jenna as they walked away from Danny out into the hallway below, and his lightened with every step Jenna took away from him.

‘Uncle Danno,’ Grace’s voice croaked out, and Danny’s heart broke all over again, and he could hear her crying, which were muffled slightly by fabric, suggesting that Matthew was carrying her.' 

‘Don’t you worry, sweetheart,’ Matthew cooed at her, ‘Uncle Danno has gone to a much brighter and happier place far away from here. No matter where he is, he will still be thinking of you. Father, is there anything I can do for you now?’

‘Yes,’ the Duke said, ‘call for a coffin and a cart to take Daniel’s body down to the Church.’

If Danny had a heartbeat, it would be racing wildly now, and he would be running as far away from here as quickly as possible, for the plan had backfired. It had been so far that Danny was to be ‘killed’ and then his body would be taken to the town morgue before burial, and sometime in the night Steve, Chin and Kono would come for him, and they would escape into the English countryside, perhaps even go so far as Glasgow, or barring that, Wales. The plan did not involve Churches of any kind, as they were an institution indelibly against him now.

‘But Duke Williams,’ Chin began and Danny could hear the rapid beating of his heart which suggested he was doing some very quick thinking, ‘the proper procedure states that Daniel should be brought to the doctor’s office so that he may perform an examination on the body. Most of the things he has said so far have been mere observations.’

‘That’s right Father,’ Matthew volunteered, ‘to involve the police in this matter, we need conclusive evidence that Danny was indeed murdered.’

‘What more evidence do you need?’ The Duke bellowed, ‘look at him! Does that look like young Daniel took his own life, or died of natural causes?' 

‘No,’ Chin grounded out.

‘Dr Bergman, can to attest to the fact that my son was murdered based on your preliminary examination?’

‘Yes I can,’ Dr Bergman said.

‘There you have it Matthew, and Mr Kelly,’ The Duke said, utterly defeated, ‘now, thank you for your efforts Doctor, but we shall not be requiring any further services from you.’

‘It was good to see you again Duke Williams,’ Doctor Bergman said, ‘barring the given circumstances. I am very sorry for your loss. Beatrice and I send our condolences.’

‘Thank you,’ his father spoke out as Doctor Bergman left the room.

***  
Danny was feeling extremely claustrophobic and ill at ease, because with each passing second the horse drawn carriage was trundling closer and closer to the local Parish, and Danny’s skin was crawling with pain as the sun filtered in through the thick black velvet curtains. He fidgeted a little to avoid where it was strongest, but the fact that the whole cart was alight with warmth was almost to much to bear, and he had to resist the impulse to flee into the darkness. One thing that was definitely certain, he could no longer enjoy the warmth of the sun, and would have to settle for the memory of it.

He was lying in a rich dark mahogany coffin made from the best wood available from the forests of Aberdeen, lined with the richest of black silk. His body had been washed, his hair had been combed and the barest hint of rouge had been applied to his lips, and his clothes changed, so that he was wearing the full Regency costume that showed his status as a Duke, complete with medallions and medals of bravery.

He was inwardly cursing Chin and Kono and Steve, for they had clearly abandoned him; he was sure that Chin was able to formulate a plan to get him out of here by now, and a feeling of ill will towards those three spread like poison through him, until he very much wanted to skin them alive for getting him into this mess, for if it had been up to him, he merely would have just vanished into the darkness.

He was driven out of this rather morose line of thoughts when the horse at the front of the carriage started neighing and bucking, causing the whole carriage to jerk to a stop and there was the rapid sounds of a scuffle and fists connecting with flesh along with sounds of the driver’s shouts for help. The driver grunted and the sounds got further and further away before Danny heard the distinctive sound of water splashing and the grunts and shouting stopped, before the door to the carriage was thrown open, and there stood Steve, slightly smoking and grimacing with pan as pure unadulterated sunlight hit him. A thick travelling cloak was thrown across his shoulders and he had a thick dark scarf wrapped around his head, so that all Danny could see where those stormy blue eyes. He pulled the cover over his mouth down and Danny could see the grimace of pain on his feature, and something inherent in him broke.

Upon catching sight of Danny though, Steve’s grimace became a full-blown smile, which lit up his features, and he threw a very thick dark woolen travelling cloak over to Danny. In the distance he could hear the sound of the Police Constable’s whistle as he undoubtedly must have heard the driver’s shouts for help.

‘Put that on,’ Steve ordered as Danny sat up and threw the cloak on top of his head savouring the way the additional material shielded him from sunlight such that his skin didn’t burn anymore. The comfort hit him full on like the weight of a steam engine.

‘Let’s go,’ Steve seized Danny’s hand and pulled him gracelessly out of the coffin into the harsh path of the sun, and it was agony the way that his skin prickled and burned he wouldn’t be surprised if he was smoking right now, just like how Steve was. In the corner of his eye he could see all of the carriage doors opening as men stepped down onto the ground and he clearly heard his Father’s furious roar, and the Police Constable arriving on horseback.

But Steve’s hand squeezed around his tighter as he pulled Danny under the canopy of the thick forest and he was running as fast as his feet could take him, buoyed by the thought that Steve had risked everything by coming out here, to the forests of Staffordshire, in broad daylight, in front of the entire horse drawn funeral procession to rescue him.

Danny couldn’t help it, for he began to grin like an idiot as joyous love spread across his heart like wildfire. In the distance he could hear the sounds of the Police Constable and his Father, along with other men begin their pursuit of Steve and Danny, but they merely hastened their pace, until the sounds of the men and their shouting quieted down, until all he could hear was the sounds of the canopy of leaves overhead rustling in the breeze and the canaries singing.

Once they found a small area of underbrush just sequestered behind the tall slope of a hill which blocked most of the sun out, Steve pulled Danny to sit down next to him as they took in large gasps of air, and Danny’s heartbeat steadied, the dull pain from sun exposure lessening with each passing moment.

‘They shall be looking for us now,’ Danny said, turning to look at Steve, ‘what in the name of Heaven was that?’

‘That was the plan,’ Steve replied gruffly, ‘and we carried it out, didn’t we?’ Their fingers tangled in each other, as they surveyed the scenes of tranquility before them, the endless stretch of lush greenery before them, ‘Chin and Kono will be coming by here at sunset, for they will bring news of the hoopla surrounding the kidnapping of your body by a fiend. Not to mention a change of clothes for you.’

Light blue met stormy blue and Danny leaned against Steve and rested his head against Steve’s shoulder as he heaved a sigh of relief, ‘I’ll have you know, this is my best outfit. Made from the finest woven materials.’

A few moments of silence passed by them, before Danny said, ‘you rescued me.’

‘So I did, Danny _,_ ’ Steve replied, clearly amused. The hand not splayed with Danny’s cupped the side of his face, bringing their faces closer together. 

‘You went into the sun and risked your foolish neck for me. Does it still hurt now?’ Danny asked cautiously.

There was a minute movement in Steve’s shoulders, ‘no, not at all. It is barely noticeable, I’ve felt worse things.’

‘Like what?’ Danny prompted.

‘Like the thought that you were going to die, and there was nothing I could do about it. That was…’ the thought was clearly very distressing for Steve, but he continued on, for it was clear that Danny needed to hear this, for his eyes had widened and he stared at Steve, utterly enraptured, ‘…it was more than I could bear. Usually vampires such as myself merely kill people to survive. Rarely do we ever transform our victims into brethren as well.’

‘So then, I’m just another one of your _victims_ then?’ Danny pushed away from Steve hard, anger flooding his senses and making him see red, so much so that he really wanted to lay a punch on that pretty face, and maybe smash some bone.

‘No! How could you even think of such a thing like that?’ Steve asked, aghast, letting go of Danny’s face.

‘Enlighten me, then,’ Danny prompted, waving a hand in the air, his gaze questioning.

‘I’m not sure if you know this, but after you become a vampire, you achieve eternal life, you can no longer die, unless you are burnt at the stake or taken to the church. All the claptrap about garlic is just silly.’

He paused for a breath, and Danny felt the anger rush out of him, to be replaced by some sort of warmth affection, completely unwarranted. It was scary and exhilarating, and maybe, just maybe, there was something deeper at work here, something beyond mere attraction, on Steve’s part. Danny had made it clear that Steve was all he wanted, but now.

What was Steve going to do? Going to _say_?

‘Generally, we only transform the people who we want to…to spend the rest of our lives with. It is folklore that we transform only those people who we cannot bear to live without, so that we may spend eternity together, so that we may never be pulled apart, so that all of the Church’s preaching about sickness and health is insignificant to us.’

‘Partners, in every sense of the word,’ Danny spoke aloud, as the full weight of realization hit him and he couldn’t help it, for soon he was pulling Steve in for another deep kiss as their arms sought out each other.

This kiss was different from all their other ones; there was no heated carnal desire, there was no urgency nor was there any sort of issue of dominance here – it was a kiss full of the promise of love and romance and endless days spent together, of everything they had to offer to each other, of the concept that there was no finite ending to any of this. And that was what made the kiss all that much sweeter, as they drank in the taste of each other, sweet like the finest honeysuckle milled wine.  

When they pulled apart, slightly gasping, and finally more interested in the other directions their actions could take, Danny admitted quietly ‘I’ve never had this much freedom before, I don’t know where to start. What shall we do?’

Steve smiled softly, as he ducked his head to press a chaste kiss on Danny’s cheek, ‘we have the whole world open to us, and the entire continuum of time on our side. Whatever you want Danny. Whatever you want.’

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came about after something Banana wrote to me in an email, and since then, I can't get it out of my mind. It's all your fault :P
> 
> As usual, all feedback is appreciated, and have I told you how much I love reading comments/getting kudos/getting email notifications of them? They make me happy *grins*


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